Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Yes, this is another canned beer provided by the legend of canned beer, woodychandler. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of hops, a touch of citrus. Taste is hoppy, some bitterness, piney, just a touch of hops. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a pretty good beer, but there are better IPA's brewed by Cigar City. (374 characters)

So are there actually 529+ hop varietals out there? Or is this like a Seal Team Six thing, where we're being duped into believing there are more than there really are?

Pours mildly clouded with an amber touched gold. Minimal head. Flavor carries tones of citrus with some pine; mostly the latter. Kind of a resin thing. Easy to drink, somewhat rustic, and pretty good. Not going to blow you away, but I like it. (412 characters)

I am trying to reduce some of the backlog of CANQuest (TM) CANs that built up while awaiting picture approval, name correction, time, money, the bevy of bikini-clad beauties to depart the premises, the Russians to get the f**k out of the Crimean Peninsula ... Suffice it to say that things were getting away from me and I am CANmitted to getting back on an even keel.

From the CAN: "Drink fresh! Do not age! Pour gently into a glass."; "A tropical IPA dry-hopped on the high seas with one of our favorite hops: Hop #529"; "Caribbean-style ale".

A nice, loud Crack! presented a brimful craft CAN, but these guys must have been talking to my Old Lady, who was scandalized by the inverted Glug. It's beer, kids! It ain't gonna bruise, but I promised that I would use a gentle pour when so directed. I wonder how an experimental hybrid hops strain ranks as one of their favorites ... Hmmm. This one was MUCH more active than its brethren in terms of its carbonation and I was quickly overrun by a foaming action! I backed off, then poured the rest, resulting in two dense, rocky fingers of fluffy, bone-white head with good retention. Color was a deep-gold (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity and loads of CO bubbles in evidence. Nose was prevalent with peach, but I CAN definitely get behind another reviewer's mention of fruit cocktail. Warming, I also got fresh mint and coconut. Beautiful lacing also began to appear. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, thanks to the carbonation and the mintiness was immediately discernible on the tongue. It was not until the swallow that I began to perceive the fruitiness of the nose again. This rendered it semi-dry, not fully dry and after this AIPA marathon, I was kind of glad. It ain't easy being a self-avowed hophead on a CANQuest (TM)! (1,788 characters)

A - Clear yellow gold with a finger of fizzy white head, very tiny tiny spotted lacing.S - A lot of malt in here, biscuit and caramel, light citrus, a little tangerine.T - Sweet malt of a candied type, then transforms to a biscuit kind, light pine notes, some citrus flavor.M - Average, a little lingering bitterness, a tad chewy.O - Just OK, whatever #529 turns out to be isnt going to be a big deal (425 characters)

O: This IPA really lacked in the bitterness department. Seemed almost more in line with a pale ale, and not a well-made one at that. Really nothing offensive, but fairly disappointing. (731 characters)

A decent IPA, and some fairly interesting flavors here as well. Golden with very little head, and a fairly strong herbal aroma with a citrus and grain edge to it. The taste is also herbal, but a bit more citrusy than the aroma, and has a crackery flavor as well. A little thin in the mouth, I'd like to see a bit more crispness and body to make it an every day thing. Enjoyable enough for a six-pack, though. (408 characters)

Pours an unassuming half finger of pure white foam, even surface, fairly dense weave, good retention given it doesn’t start from much, the lacing has super stickiness, forms solid rings around the glass sides. Mild filminess to the deep golden hue, the bubbles are tiny but fill the glass from side to side, only the merest yellowing at the rims, looks like it wants to be taken seriously. While the nose has a sweeter base in orange and grapefruit citrus, it leaps at you with leafy herbaceous matter, pepper and biscuit, some black tea leaf, it’s fruity with peach, apricot, pineapple notes but never seems sweet nor juicy, minerally, what it may lack in complexity it more than makes up for with raw power. In the mouth it’s full-bodied, quite dry with a tacky, sticky mouth feel. The pink and white grapefruit, blood orange citrus more zest than pulp, any pine sap or florality no match for the peppery to minerally bite and crisp leafy earthiness, some tar or charcoal accents mixed in. The papaya, pineapple, nectarine fruit fights like the dickens but does not reach the finish line, adding to its overall bitterness. The carbonation is taut and keeps the rhythm up tempo. Not particularly longlasting at the end, can’t call it a casual sipper but clean and direct enough to serve well as a food beer. (1,316 characters)

Thanks to Skuter, ChewyLewy, and scribe594 for sharing this one at Skuter's tasting.

Canned 1/30/14.

Pours a hazy honey orange with a foamy beige head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, tea, floral, and tropical fruit aromas. Taste is much the same with tea and floral flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty and easy to drink. (593 characters)

Poured from a can into a ipa glass, it has a golden color body with a foamy sticky head. The smell is citrus and tropical. The taste has a citrus up front then the bitterness of the hops come in on the finish. The mouthfeel is smooth and leaves a bitter aftertaste. Over this citrus and tropical hop beer is awesome. (316 characters)

T - As the aroma would indicate, plenty of tropically fruity hop flavors are present along with citrus and a bit of a floral hop presence as well. Much more bitter than the aroma shows giving a firm but somewhat dirty, muddled bitterness. Lightly sweet malt base with some yeasty bready malt flavors as well. I wish the bitterness was a bit on the cleaner and sharper side - a minor detraction to an otherwise flavorful hoppy beer.

M - Medium bodied, perhaps just a touch on the thin side. Firmly bitter, slightly medicinal. Medium carbonation that is a touch on the dull side, but still works fine. Finishes dry with a lingering bitter aspirin quality.

O - Overall not a bad IPA at all. Mostly satisfying, but a bit more residual sweetness would push forward the tropical fruits more and may time a somewhat harsh bitterness from the hops. Interesting and enjoyable, but could have been much more in my opinion. (1,401 characters)

THis beer pours a semi hazy golden color with a white frothy head.It smelled good at first, with apples and pears but towards the end I could not get away from the sour kraut aroma. Perhaps it is infected I don't know.The taste was marginally better with it being dry and peppery. Semi malty and only hints of hops to cut through.Drinks thin and taste thin.I'm glad this is only brewed once. (395 characters)

Grabbed a can from Tipples. Super fresh. Pours like the other High Seas variants, just a slightly hazy golden orange color with a one finger white head. Juicy mango and citrus aroma, pineapple, grass, some sweet malts in the background. Big juicy mango and orange peel flavor, sweet citrus but more tropical fruits, light malt backing here, and again with a somewhat unpleasant finish as I have had with all of this series. Medium bodied, juicy, with medium to high carbonation. This is such a great series to me, I just wish CCB would do something about the weird finish on the base beer. Worth a try and hoping they do some more with this hop. The Citra is still far and away the best of these. (696 characters)

I'm very impressed with the HOTHS series of IPA's. Pours a clean golden hue into a pint glass with only a modest bit of lacing and foam. Beautiful aroma of mango, citrus and bread malt. Very mild hops flavor without much bittering. Lots of citrus and tropical essence on the tongue with just enough malt middle to balance it out. Soft, creamy mouthfeel is reminiscent of a very fine cream ale with low carbonation by IPA standards. Completely clean aftertaste with no lingering flavors would lend well to food and repeated glasses. Overall, very drinkable and a welcome beer on a warm Carribean day. (670 characters)